NEW YEAR, NEW OFFICE

January 4, 2013

I started moving my office in April of 2012. I would say that I was pretty settled in September 2012 and these pictures were taken right before the Holiday break. I am so glad to finally share them with you. I kept telling myself that it wasn’t ready but I think that’s the way it goes, it will never be done. It will always be a work in progress and growth. So here it is at a point that I am very happy with. You may remember that I posted some before and getting there pictures here. I think we’ve come a long way since then.

Here is the view of my desk which looks out into the office. That was a big goal for me. I think that desks look great up against walls with fun art behind them. But I hate staring at a wall all day. So I made it a priority that my desk would face out into the office. My desk is made from a white-washed wood door on top of 2 sawhorses from Ikea. The sawhorses were unfinished wood so we spray painted them gold. I also spray painted the light above my desk gold. It was originally silver and I put an Edison light build inside. I tried to put in as much lighting as possible to counteract the fluorescent lights that are native to basements.

This is the view from my desk of my assistant’s desk. It was a hand me down, so I’m not sure where it’s from. I created the wrapping paper display using metal rods from Ikea. I guess they were supposed to be towel racks or something. The lights on the wall were there when I moved in, so I just centered the wrap display in between them and that informed me where to put the desk. The wrap display also hides a plug which you may see wires escaping from at the top and some large holes where a bracket for a huge tv used to live.

This is my awesome peg board. I just love these things. They are so cute with their polka dots and so darn useful. You have probably seen these in white. This one is one of those white ones, it turns out that they are kraft brown on the back. I contemplated painting this board a bright color but I thought that the walls were bright enough. I like the kraft brown color against the white and orangey-pink. This board hangs right over my work tables to create a work station. This is where orders get filled, envelopes get lined and packaging happens.

From this angle, you can see the one item I wish I had finished before the photo shoot. That dang yellow pole. That was the color of some of the walls when I moved in and I just forgot to paint it white. I’m sure I’ll get around to it one day, I just wish that day had been about a month ago. You can also see my large magnetic design board that hovers over my desk. That was created by putting 4 smaller boards together. I got them at Ikea years ago. The shelves on the back wall are also from Ikea and I just left off the backing to create that open look. The boxes and white files are from Ikea too.

We really needed a shipping area. Shipping supplies are crucial but kind of messy looking. I do have a back room for supplies which I will reveal later but I really wanted the shipping supplies in the front room with me for efficiency. We utilized the space under the stairs for all the shipping stuff and I got that Ikea shelving from my sister who wasn’t using it anymore. We removed the separator from the top space to fit in my roll of paper.

From this angle, you can see some progress check lists that I usually have hanging all around the office. We took them down halfway through the photo shoot because they aren’t that pretty to look at. I want to be honest with you guys and let you know that we did spruce up the office for the shoot. As much as I would like to show you how it looks on a regular day, I wanted you to see it first in it’s best light. I do this with my house too. If you have never been over, I will probably scrub every nook and cranny to make it look better than ever but once you’ve been over a few times and know how good it can look, I’ll relax a little. I will share some particularly messy photos with you in the future, I promise.

Here is the view of my desk. It isn’t really always this clean but I do try to keep it somewhat organized. I am a bit of a pile maker. Can you spot the cat? He was getting dropped off for the holidays (you remember that my office is in the basement of my mom’s house right?) and he was staying close to me in the hopes that I wouldn’t leave him there. The plants aren’t real because I can’t keep them alive but everyone thinks they are.

This is probably the best view of the work station. I put two Ikea tables together to form this L shaped processing center. I have to have a high table to work on so that my back doesn’t hate me so I bought the only table legs they have that are adjustable. They were this terrible gray color so we spray painted them a soft rose gold. It’s hard to tell in this picture but it make a big difference in real life. I also went with the glossy white table tops which was a good idea visually but they are dust and dirt magnets. They have to be cleaned and scrubbed constantly. Did I mention they look great?

I love this view of all my decorations that I put up on the shelves. The shelves aren’t that tall so I needed something to bring the eye up. I decided that it made the most sense to make the space reek of Avie Designs so I loaded them up with invitations and such.

You may not even be able to tell but I painted the little metal label holders on the paper boxes. I used this mint nail polish that I never wear. It was a very simple project that made a big difference in the office.

I hope you have enjoyed the tour. I have found working at an office that accurately represents the my style is uplifting and energizing. It has strangely given me a confidence in myself and my business that I didn’t expect. Happy New Year to you all!